Cadillac ATS General Discussion Forum Discussion, Anyone use the sports mode and if so how often in Cadillac ATS Discussion Forums; Had the sports mode on my 1997 Catera (sympathies accepted). Found it made the car seem much more peppy. So ...

Anyone use the sports mode and if so how often

Had the sports mode on my 1997 Catera (sympathies accepted). Found it made the car seem much more peppy. So when I saw it on my 2013 ATS, I wanted to try it out right away. Because I have the 2.5 engine, found the sports mode made acceleration especially on the interstate much less choppy and more controlled and even.

Wish I could leave it in the sports mode all the time because I think the car drives better in sport mode. Hopefully that won't cause any future problems. Because it holds the car in gear much longer-car seems more responsive and powerful.

Re: Anyone use the sports mode and if so how often

When it rev matches a downshift as you brake for a corner, you'll love sports mode forever. I only ride in touring mode when the wife and kid are in the car... You could say that sports mode makes the ATS really (wait for it ) .... zigs!

Re: Anyone use the sports mode and if so how often

i use it all the time, in fact i did yesterday after a my friends latest baby's baptism the way to his house for the reception was on a curvy road. love it, i'm hoping someone developes a CUE app that will let us further tinker how sport mode behaves.

Re: Anyone use the sports mode and if so how often

i honestly cant even feel the difference in steering with my manual 2.0T. i leave sport mode off at all times unless im doing curvy roads or canyons. then i turn it on but the only reason i turn it on is for me to mentally think the car is in sport mode....cus if i put an index card on my dash, hiding the sport mode indicator, i dont think ill ever tell when its on or off....lol.

Re: Anyone use the sports mode and if so how often

it does work, one day my wife was driving and i snuck sport mode on and she immediately asked "what did you do? the steering got stiffer"

thats why when the app store hits CUE i'm hoping to see a gran turismo style tuning app, that would have sliders for steering, throttle response, transmission shift speed, level of stabilitrak, etc assigned to sport mode. My friends 2013 m5 does this, its really cool, its really wild how it goes from docile to violent depending on the settings.

Re: Anyone use the sports mode and if so how often

Originally Posted by pissedoffwookiee

it does work, one day my wife was driving and i snuck sport mode on and she immediately asked "what did you do? the steering got stiffer"

thats why when the app store hits CUE i'm hoping to see a gran turismo style tuning app, that would have sliders for steering, throttle response, transmission shift speed, level of stabilitrak, etc assigned to sport mode. My friends 2013 m5 does this, its really cool, its really wild how it goes from docile to violent depending on the settings.

i cant believe i havent noticed it then. is there an immidiate difference? or do u have to wait a few minutes for it to gradually get stiffer?

Re: Anyone use the sports mode and if so how often

iv'e only had it 4 days now and have put it in sports mode almost every time i start up. Still waiting for the rev match magic. That said I haven't driven extra hard yet...still, II would have expected to feel it on some hard braking on a downhill curving off-ramp (that used to trigger it on my Infiniti G35). does anyone know if there s a speed threshold or maybe a tranny learning curve as it adapts to the driver?

Re: Anyone use the sports mode and if so how often

Originally Posted by Felton10

Had the sports mode on my 1997 Catera (sympathies accepted). Found it made the car seem much more peppy. So when I saw it on my 2013 ATS, I wanted to try it out right away. Because I have the 2.5 engine, found the sports mode made acceleration especially on the interstate much less choppy and more controlled and even.

Wish I could leave it in the sports mode all the time because I think the car drives better in sport mode. Hopefully that won't cause any future problems. Because it holds the car in gear much longer-car seems more responsive and powerful.

Anyone else have any experience with the sports mode or any comments?

Steering, suspension, and transmission change in Sport Mode.

If you do not have MRC, the suspension does not change.

If you do not have automatic transmission, the transmission does not change.

Steering adjustment is subtle - it is more noticeable on highway driving then on city streets.

I would almost argue that the steering in Sports Mode should have been the default, and that even stiffer steering could be added on top of it, especially at higher speeds.

As to the automatic transmission, the Sports Mode also requires a heavy foot. Without a heavy foot, you'll hardly notice the difference. But with a heavy foot you'll notice the car('s auto-transmission) becoming a lot more intelligent and guessing (correctly, mostly) what it is you are trying to do - the algorithm includes centrifugal force sensors, so it 'knows' whether you are cornering or straight-lining.

Suspension (MRC) adjustment in Sport Mode seems to be 'track mode'. I think that the engineers should have added three settings: Touring, Sports and Track mode. Touring is default, Sport changes steering and transmission, and Track adds suspension changes.

My understanding is that the 'Sport Mode' for the MRC suspension is ok on good roads (or track), but can yield a harsh ride on rough roads.

For those that have non-MRC suspension, the Sports Mode should be the default. It hardly changes the mpg results, but makes the car more lively and sporty.

As far as the original question, I always drive in Sports Mode. Strangely, on my car, this is a single button push, whereas on the Premium it requires two button pushes.

Re: Anyone use the sports mode and if so how often

I use the sport mode daily in my automatic FE2-suspension ATS. The transmission is terrible in touring mode. Touring mode should not exist. On the other hand, it's great in sport mode. I have to think the car would have gotten better reviews if GM had only made the default transmission mode behave more like sport mode. GM, please allow us to make sport mode the default in our cars.

Re: Anyone use the sports mode and if so how often

I have an automatic, which does not change AT ALL from touring to sport. My dealer said that it’s working but that’s BS. No PAL, no rev-matching downshift on hard braking or cornering, no holding revs longer. I feel the change in steering feel but that’s it.

Can anyone point me to “official” GM or Cadillac documentation that I can use as ammunition against my dealer? Thanks. Bert